The island, first excavated in 1959 by a Danish archaeology team, contains important buildings and tombs of the Umm an-Nar Culture. The cemetery comprises above-ground tombs, which are circular in shape and range in diameter from 6 to 12 metres. They are several metres high and are divided into chambers accessed through small entrances. 
Each chamber was designed to contain several bodies, but the precise number is difficult to tell because of disturbances by grave robbers and the passage of time.
The tombs were constructed using dressed stones. Some of these original stones were used in the restoration of a number of tombs during the 1970s. The ring walls of the larger buildings were sometimes decorated with carvings of Oryx, oxen, snakes and camels.  
Several buildings made from rough-cut stone were also excavated on Umm an-Nar Island. These comprised houses and a warehouse. The latter was used to store and transport goods from the island to regions around the Arabian Gulf. 

Lifestyle

Archaeologists have recovered a number of objects from the settlement on the island, providing insight into the lives of these early people. Artefacts include necklaces, jewellery and even a gold hairpin; copper weapons; and imported and local pottery decorated with elaborate designs. Bronze objects, such as fishing hooks, also were found. These were made from locally sourced copper that likely came from the mountains near the inland oasis of Al Ain.
Artefacts such as fish hooks and net sinkers illustrate the people’s dependence on the sea for food. Dugong, also called “sea cow”, seems to have been a staple of the diet, and the hide and oil also were used. Now a protected species, dugongs must once have been plentiful, since many of their bones were found at the site.
The site is not accessible to the public.